Fourth day of the A to Z blogging challenge, and I’m continuing my introduction to major elements of the novel, Dust to Blood, I’m releasing later this month. This time I’ve decided to take the opportunity to explain a Russian cultural phenomenon that doesn’t really have an analogue in one word in the English language. Sure, any snowbird in the US understands the concept of a second home to escape onerous winter conditions.

In Russia, these vacation homes range from modest, not-much-more-than shacks all the way to amazing summer palaces. And people there use them to escape to easy summertime living. In the new, post-Soviet world, from what I’ve read, these homes form exurbs around major metropolitan areas and are getting quite elaborate. So setting a woodland retreat for one of the main characters within long-ish commuting distance of one of these houses made all kinds of sense, for all kinds of reasons. I’m including a picture here that reminds me of a Dacha I visited in the Moscow suburbs in the late 1970s; the one I imagined in the book is closer to what I’ve posted on my Pinterest board for the Red Slaves series.

I hope you’re starting to get anxious to read the actual book; now, I need to get back to final edits so I can be sure to release it on time.